Early life

Graff was born in New York City, the son of Judith Clarice (née Oxhorn), a piano teacher and choirmaster, and Jerome Lawrence Graff, a musician. His sister is actress Ilene Graff.

Career

Graff is an alumnus both as a camper and counselor of the Stagedoor Manor performing arts summer camp in upstate New York. He sang on the original-cast albums of Sesame Street (1970) and the follow-up Sesame Street 2 (1971). He garnered fame in 1975 when he joined the cast of the PBS children's television series The Electric Company. Playing the role of Jesse, a member of the Short Circus, he remained with the show to the end of its production in 1977 (replacing Stephen Gustafson).

Graff's writing credits include Camp, Used People, The Vanishing, and The Beautician and the Beast. Graff acted in several films including Death to Smoochy, Dominick and Eugene, Strange Days, Not Quite Paradise, and The Abyss.

He was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Danny in Broadway's Baby in 1984. He starred in the 1987 Off-Broadway musical Birds of Paradise as Homer. In 2006, Graff directed the stage musical 13 by Jason Robert Brown and Dan Elish at the Mark Taper Forum. In 2009, he co-wrote and directed the film Bandslam. In 2012 he wrote and directed the film Joyful Noise.

Filmography

Movies

Movie	Character	Year
P.O.P.	Johnny Gordon	1984
Five Corners	James	1987
Opportunity Knocks	Lou Pesquino	1990
Framed	Pete	1990
Fly By Night	Naji	1993
Not Quite Jerusalem	Rothwell T Schwartz	1985
It's No Crush, I'm in Love	Robby Pols	1982 and 1983
Dominick and Eugene	Larry Higgins	1988
An Innocent Man	Robby	1989
The Abyss	Alan 'Hippy' Carnes	1989
Sweet Lorraine	Leonard	1987
After Midnight	Tough Kid	1989
Strange Days	Tex Arcana	1995
City of Hope	Zip	1991

TV series

Series	Character	Year
The Nanny	Harvey	1997
Chicago Hope	Louis Bagley	1995
ABC Afterschool Specials	Trent and Robby Pols	1983 and 1992
The Marshall Chronicles	Vincent	1990
Vietnam War Story	Richard Muldoon	1987
The Electric Company	Jesse (seasons 5-6)	1975-1977

Award nominations

• 1984 Tony Award nominee as Featured Actor in a Musical for Baby
• 1984 Won Theatre World Award for Baby (musical)
• 2003 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee for Camp

TV

• Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition (2012)
• Made in Hollywood (2011)
• Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s (2009)
• Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's (2009)
• Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss (1993)

Writer

• Joyful Noise (2012)
• Bandslam (2009)
• Camp (2003)
• The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
• Angie (1994)
• The Vanishing (1993)
• Fly by Night (1993)
• Used People (1992)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]